Two Gastrointestinal Parasites from Freshwater Sharptooth Catfish, Clarias Gariepinus (Burchell, 1822)
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Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. ISSN 1110 – 6131 Vol. 24(4): 463 – 478 (2020) www.ejabf.journals.ekb.eg Two gastrointestinal parasites from freshwater sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) Medhat Ali1,2*, Amira Lotfy1 and Ahmed Nigm1 1Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 11566, Egypt 2Department of Biology, College of Science, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, KSA *Corresponding Author: [email protected] ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article History: The sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus is a popular tropical catfish in Received: June 15, 2020 Africa. C. gariepinus considered a good source of protein for human Accepted: July 5, 2020 consumption and has been believed as an important fish for farming. The Online: July 8, 2020 present study aims to investigate gastrointestinal parasites of C. gariepinus _______________ in a local area within Qaluobaya Governorate, Egypt. Thirty males and females C. gariepinus (Teleostei: Clariidae) were examined for the presence Keywords: of gastrointestinal parasites. Two parasite species were found naturally Catfish; infect C. gariepinus. Polyonchobothrium clarias (Cestoda: Polyonchobothrium Pseudophyllidea) which infected the pyloric stomach, small intestine, bile clarias; duct, and gall bladder. The other parasite was Procamallanus laeviconchus Procamallanus (Nematoda: Camallanidae) which infects the small intestine of C. laeviconchus; gariepinus. The prevalence of P. clarias was 33.33 % which was higher Parasites; than the prevalence of P. laeviconchus (6.67 %). The prevalence of gastrointestinal; infection in males of C. gariepinus was 26.67 %, however, the prevalence of gall bladder infection in females was 6.67 % which was significantly lower than prevalence of infection in males. The total recovered P. clarias was 188 worms, while the total number of P. laeviconchus was 23 worms. It was also observed that the tissues at the infected sites were greatly destructed. This study reinforced that C. gariepinus is highly susceptible to infection with different helminths. INTRODUCTION Clarias gariepinus is a common and important tropical catfish in Africa and the Middle East (Clay, 1979; Marcogliese and Cone, 2001, Hassan et al., 2010). It is widely distributed, occupying tropical swamps, lakes, and rivers in Africa (Olufemi et al., 1991). C. gariepinus is regard as one of the best models of omnivorous fishes (Holden and Reed, 1972; Clay, 1979). It is considered as a predator, feeding mainly on aquatic insects, molluscs, fishes; it also feeds on plant debris and fruits (Micha, 1973 and 464 Medhat Ali et al., 2020 Bruton, 1979). Clarias gariepinus has been considered as an important fish for farming in Africa. C. gariepinus has many advantages such as, having a wide range of geographical distribution, an extraordinary growth rate, nearly unaffected with handling and trauma, and well appreciated in many African countries (Akinsanya and Otubanjo 2006). Clarias gariepinus is an important human food fish, as it considered as a good source of protein and had low level of cholesterol. Economically C. gariepinus is considered as a source of subsistence income (Aken'ova, 2000; Steffens, 2006 and Eyo and Effanga, 2018). In Egypt, parasitic diseases stand for nearly 80 % of fish diseases (Eissa, 2006). Parasitic infections in fishes lead to decreased production that results in economic loss through fish mortality, drop in fish growth and fecundity, rise the susceptibility of fish to more diseases, and elevated cost of treatment (Cowx, 1992). Under normal circumstances, 50-90 % of freshwater fishes, harbor one parasite species (Sineszko, 1979). It was also reported by Palm (2011) that, based on a cautious estimate, there is an average of 3-4 parasites in each living species of fishes and the described fishes were about 31,400 species, so it can be estimated that up to 120,000 parasite species may be found in fishes. Fishes are affected by different parasites, as they are not only can act as intermediate hosts for many digeneans and cestodes, but they also can act as definitive hosts for many helminths. The infection of wild fish with parasites are common where the requirement of parasites for intermediate and definitive hosts are chanced (Feist and Longshaw 2008). Piscivorous birds, in which several helminths develop into adult stages, are important, as they can spread parasite eggs over extended distances, making it difficult to control the propagation of infections among water bodies (Saayman et al., 1991). The most common parasites are gastrointestinal parasites that compete with the fish host for nutrients, hence reducing the essential nutrients to be absorbed by fish. Subsequently, these parasites hamper the growth of fish leading to morbidity and mortality and making the fish more susceptible to surrounding predators (Azadikhah et al., 2014 and Omeji et al., 2015). Fish helminthology is not as broadly researched as other aspects of aquatic parasitology and fish biology. This is possibly because helminths are principally infecting the internal organs, chiefly the gastrointestinal tract. For humans, the gastrointestinal tract does not involve the edible part of the fish (Ibrahim et al, 2008). Hamouda (2019) examined two catfishes, Synodontis serratus and Synodontis schall from lake Nasser, Egypt for endoparasites. She found in both catfishes, one cestode: Wenyonia virilis, and three nematodes: Cithariniella citharini, P. laeviconchus, and Spirocamallanus pseudospiralis. She also found a cestode, Proteocephalus sulcatus, and one acanthocephalan, Rhadinorhynchus sp. were only recorded from Synodontis schall. Polyonchobothrium clarias is extensively distributed in African freshwater C. gariepinus having been documented from Nigeria (Aderounmu and Adeniyi 1972). It was also described from the Bagrid catfish Chrysichthys thonneri from Gabon, the Two gastrointestinal parasites from Clarias gariepinus 465 mudfish Clarias anguillaris and Heterobranchus bidorsalis from Senegal (Khalil 1973), and in C. anguillaris from Egypt (Amin 1978). P. clarias was first spotted by Mashego (1977) from C. gariepinus in seven dams in the Le bowa region, Limpopo province, South Africa. Concerning P. laeviconchus, it belongs to family Camallanidae whose members commonly infect clariid fishes of African freshwaters such as C. gariepinus (Moravec, 2019). Polyonchobothrium clarias infects pyloric stomach of C. gariepinus. It is deeply embedded by its scolex into the infected tissue which induces a deep cavity-like depression inside mucosal tissue. Also, it destroys mucosal epithelia around the site of infection comparable with uninfected tissue leading to dilation of blood capillary of the infected tissue. (El-Mansy et al., 2011). P. clarias was also collected from the gall bladder of C. gariepinus that looked enlarged with thickened bile duct; P. clarias was also gathered from the glandular stomach. The parasites were mainly attached at the junction between the muscular and glandular stomach and sometimes, they were attached near the beginning of the bile duct in the glandular stomach. (Eissa et al., 2012). Procamallanus laeviconchus is an intestinal nematode of many fishes. It is prevalent in many African fish families such as Clariidae and Schilbeidae from Lake Kariba. In Nigeria, Chishawa (1991) and Douëllou (1992). Khalil (1973) recovered P. laeviconchus from seven species of fishes from Ghana belonging to the Mormyridae, Schilbeidae, and Mochokidae. Many species of Procamallanus infecting freshwater fishes have also been documented in Europe (Moravec 1994) and the Neotropical region (Santos et al., 1999). Opara and Okon (2002) and Yakubu et al., (2002) reported P. laeviconchus from Oreochromis niloticus (Cichlidae) and from both C. gariepinus (Clariidae) and Tilapia zilli (Cichlidae) respectively. El-Mansy et al., (2011) observed P. laeviconchus embedded its buccal capsule in the cardiac portion of the stomach of C. gariepinus causing damage, rupture to mucosal tissue and hemorrhage at the attachment site of the parasite. Due to the wide geographic distribution, the diverse diet of C. gariepinus, as well as its commercial and aquaculture values, the investigation of the helminth parasites of C. gariepinus as well as their effects on this important catfish were explored in the present work. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sample collection and worm staining: Thirty C. gariepinus fish were obtained randomly from a fish market in Qaluobaya Governorate, Egypt. Specimens were brought to the invertebrate Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University. The gills of fish were dissected out, deposited in Petri dishes containing saline solution (0.85 % NaCl), and checked for parasites. Then fishes were opened ventrally, and the body cavities and mesenteries were examined for parasites. The gastrointestinal tract was opened from the oesophagus to the 466 Medhat Ali et al., 2020 rectum and parasites were encountered carefully from the pyloric portion of the stomach, gall bladder, bile duct, and intestine. The collected helminth parasites were put in the saline solution, then fixed in 70 % ethyl alcohol, counted, and recorded. Parasites were then washed in distilled water and stained in borax carmine (ADWIC company, Egypt). Differentiation was carried out in acidified alcohol (70 % ethyl alcohol and few drops of HCl) for few minutes this was followed by dehydration